I would also suggest calling Doug, and make a phone order you will probably get on the back order list, I just got my second set of gear, it took a couple of months, but I was in no hurry.

there orders have over reached there production capabilities, for both of my gear sets I had to wait a couple of months to get mine but there well worth the wait, there a small little company with a hot product, I tried the wait for the gear to show up on the website method,then I just called and made a order.

I called Doug at Lado and talked to him about a set of his Lado gear for a CMP Corsair I am building. He is taking back orders and filling them as fast as he can. His product is in high demand so if you want a set call Doug at Lado and order the set you need. He will tell you it will be at least 3 to 4 weeks, but it really will more than likely be 6 to 8 weeks. I ordered a set of the 60-2T gear for my Corsair 2 weeks ago and I talked to Doug last Friday and he said it will be at least another 3 to 4 weeks[:'(] Not what I wanted to hear, but I really want this type of gear in my Corsair. Bob Hayes has a set in his Corsair and they work really good. Here is a video clip of his Lado 60-2T working.

YES AS YOUR OTHER REPLYS STATE LADO ARE OUT THERE! DOUG HAS SUPPLYED A FEW SETS TO ME NOW AND SENT THEM OVER TO AUZZIE FOR ME . THIS GEAR IS THE REAL DEAL SO THEY ARE WELL WORTH THE WAIT. I DID HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS AS YOU HAVE (GETTING YOUR EMAILS REPLYED) THIS IS BECAUSE HE IS MAKING SUCH A GOOD PRODUCT AND THE SUPPLY IS OUT STRIPPING HIS PRODUCTION I SPOS, I HAVE JUST ABOUT FINISHED A P40 WITH A SET OF DOUGS RETRACT IN THE WING AND IT MAKES MOST OF THE OTHER STUFF LOOK LIKE TOYS WHEN YOU SEE THESE WORK SCALE LIKE.

If you want a set, you should really call Doug and pre-order... you'll wait probably a month or so, he builds them in batches.. but if you order now, you'll have yours by flying weather (at least here in the north east!!!)

The quality of the retracts is superb, and when he says "drop in fit" its a DROP IN FIT, the screw holes line up perfectly and the things slipped right in under the stock wheel wells on my p-47, nu fuss, no muss... done!

I need to call him about getting a 90 degree set for my H9 spitfire.. he currently does 85 degrees for the h9 birds, but i prefer the look of a 90 degree.... dunno if he can alter the angle easily...

I'd like to buy a set of these things for a Mustang BARF I'm working on if they ever make them again... lol! Imagine how much more popular they'd be if they took out ads in R/C Airplane magazines and the AMA Magazine? Geez! If they decide to go public and sell stock I'd sure as heck want in!!! [>:]

I have a question though... how do you decide which strut diameter size to order? Is it better to go with the larger diameter strut size (since I'll have to buy new struts as well, once the LADO's are back in stock again)?

Michael:
I usually use Robart 650 or 653 struts and use the 3/16 inch adaptor that is included to fit the LADO 3/16 inch opening. The 3/8 inch strut fits the LADOâ€™s perfectly. The joining wire only has to be about 2 Â½ inches long and is easy to replace if need be, although I have never had to replace a joiner yet.

I have a question though... how do you decide which strut diameter size to order? Is it better to go with the larger diameter strut size (since I'll have to buy new struts as well, once the LADO's are back in stock again)?

Thanks!

- Michael

if your going to use the rotators they come with the 5/32 holes for the stock struts to fit,for these I made my own connectors and they seem fine for strength, would have prefered the 3/16 but they are not making the units now with that hole size so I ordered the ones they had at the time.

for the units that I have in my Mustang I went for the larger wire connectors, since I am using the larger Robart 662 struts and they don't use the smaller wires anyway, the smaller Robart struts come with a adaptor for each wire size.

when I made my connectors out of regular piano wire stock, I heat treated the metal after cutting for length, surprising how hard the metal gets when red hot and quenched in water or oil, it increases the brittle nature of the steel but it won't bend without alot of effort.

I have a question though... how do you decide which strut diameter size to order? Is it better to go with the larger diameter strut size (since I'll have to buy new struts as well, once the LADO's are back in stock again)?

Thanks!

- Michael

Michael,
I would always go with the 3/16" wire if I could.
I'm using Lado's 60-2T on a 15lb Corsair. With this weight I needed a Robart 660 Robo to handle it. They're rated at 18lbs. The 2T's are only available for a 5/32" wire. The 660 strut is a 3/16" wire. I thought I could drill out the retracts but there isn't enough stock at the retract trunnion. I made my own wires with a 5/32" wire and soldering a 3/16" x.014 wall brass tube over it.

Another benefit of the larger strut was the fact that the I.D. of the 660 would fit snuggly over the brass fitting on top of the lado, making for a very clean looking install.

i here you corsair jack. im putting a os 120 4 stroke in mine/ because thats the engine i have. its 32 ounces were as some put in the zenoha 20 on ei at 42 ounces i hope the 4 stroke works well. it os mounted on a down ward 45 and its not pumped. os surpass with out pump.

from my conversations with Doug at LADO they will be doing gear in the rotators to accept the larger wires, but its going to take some work to accomodate the larger trunion and as many have noted there having trouble just keeping up with there present orders.

I think you might be surprised how strong the 5/32 wire is after tempering it, before the heating process I can bend the wire with a pair of pliars after its done, I need to put it in a vise and use a hammer to get it to bend in the slightest for a 10lb plane it would be plenty strong enough.

if you were going to use the worthless 5/32 struts H-9 offers,to connect to struts, the wire would bend every time, even after doing a heat treating mine were stiffer but are way to flexable, the wire I got from the LHS must have a high carbon content in it because there is a major difference in strength.

just finished fitting my LADO's to my Hangar-9 Mustang, I did go with the larger struts so I could use the 3 1/2"Robart tires there better looking than the stock ones so I went for those.
after removing the old mech. gear and the plastic wheel wells I was surprised how much area there was in the wing, after I dropped the LADO's in literally they fit perfectly in the space in the wing, I fit and cut the struts to size, since I was using the larger struts, I had to cut the springs down to move the spring stop down enough to allow the connector to fit in the shorter tube.

I just used JB Weld to secure the adaptor in the tube and after a overnight dry reassembled the struts they don't move the full distance but the spring tension is enough so it doesnt matter, if I need more bounce I will cut the piston down for more travel, and trim another coil or 2 off the springs, but for now there fine the way they are.

I havent made the new tubs, and channels, for the wheels yet but here they are installed in the wing,they fit pretty good, and the looks are a huge improvement over the wires, the only problem is that the wheels sit just a little high in the stock configuration.

I am not planning to alter the gear mounts right now but I may in the future to get the wheels to sit lower in the wells its going to require the gear to be lowered by at least 1/8" which there is room for in the wing mount area but will require me to remove the existing rails and do some cutting, if I need to do this I will use some hardwood to replace them they dont stick out that much so I will just fly it for now.

I have a Top Flight B/C Malcom hood conversion kit to build, so these gear might make it into that project depending on how long the H-9 lastsits a great flyer and has been a trouble free plane, if the weather holds I will take it out next weekend

I have no doubt that these are great products if you can get them. I contacted them back in September 2008 and asked about a set for my TopFlite Staggerwing. I was advised to sign up on the website for email notification when the ones I needed were in stock. I did all that and on October 1st received an email that they were available. I placed my order immediately. Since then I've been waiting... and waiting... and waiting. In December Doug himself told me that he'd shipped them and even gave me a tracking number. The USPS site said that the tracking number existed but no package was ever picked up. Doug blamed his "postal lady". Since then, I've continued to wait. When I contact him, he promises to communicate and give me updates on what to expect and never does. Pathetic customer service and a disgusting lack of integrity. I too may become a fan of this product, but I'd like to actually get my hands on it at some point in order to do so. I'd have been delighted to receive my order in a couple of months. Currently at four months, 10 days and counting. A more accurate company name would be LATE-O-Tech.